Secure package for food products and oven intended to accommodate such a package

ABSTRACT

A package for food products. The package has an internal volume delimited by a bottom wall, a top wall and a peripheral border. The top wall has a pre-cut to form a peripheral portion and a central portion. The central portion is extended by a cap. The peripheral border has at least one notch forming a passage for a foolproof member during insertion of the package into a heating device.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This Application claims priority to and the benefit of French Patent Application No. FR2201216, filed Feb. 11, 2022, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The field of the disclosure is that of the design and manufacture of the packages for food products.

More specifically, the disclosure relates in particular to a secure package for food products.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

For their marketing, the food products are conventionally contained in packages in order to be protected from the external environment and to be able to be preserved.

Some packages are only used for the purpose of transporting and protecting food products.

However, other packages have, in addition, a function of resistance to high temperatures such that the food products they contain can be reheated while they are still in their package.

Such package is for example described in the patent document published under the number EP 3 763 636.

This package has an internal volume delimited by:

-   -   a bottom wall;     -   a top wall;     -   a peripheral border connecting the bottom wall and the top wall.

The peripheral flange is in particular constituted by flaps extending from the top wall and from the bottom wall, the flanges carried by the top wall being located outside relative to the flaps carried by the bottom wall.

In order to allow the access to the internal volume, the top wall is movable in rotation around a hinge located at the junction between the top wall and the peripheral border.

This container is for example intended to contain pies, quiches or even pizzas which can be eaten directly in the package once the top wall is pivoted to allow the heating of the product and the access to the internal volume.

However, such package is not without drawbacks.

First of all, the top wall is fully movable relative to the bottom wall. Therefore, if a consumer takes hold of the package by the flaps carried by the top wall, then there is a risk of unexpected opening of the package and therefore of falling of the food products, which are then no longer edible.

Moreover, the top wall has a pre-cut allowing creating a central portion which is movable relative to a peripheral portion of the top wall. If this allows limiting the opening of the top wall to the single central portion, the displacement in rotation of the central portion is not simple and generally requires the use of the consumer's two hands, one of which is to hold the peripheral portion and the other to displace the central portion. Indeed, despite the weight of the food products contained in the package, the opening of the central portion also causes the displacement of the peripheral portion. It is therefore necessary to hold the peripheral portion in order to cut the central portion and allow it to be opened.

Finally, by the possibility of pivoting of the top wall about the hinge, the products contained in the box can be easily accessed. This pivoting of the top wall therefore does not allow preventing a malicious act on the food products contained in the package.

SUMMARY

An exemplary embodiment of the disclosure aims in particular at overcoming the drawbacks of the prior art.

More specifically, an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure aims at proposing a package for food products which is easy to use and guarantees the integrity of the food products it contains, while limiting, even eliminating, the risks of degradation (in particular combustion) when reheating the food products.

An exemplary embodiment of the disclosure also aims at provide such a package whose integrity is preserved when the products it contains are heated.

An exemplary embodiment of the disclosure further aims at providing such package which is easy to handle.

These objectives, as well as others which will appear subsequently, are achieved in one or more exemplary embodiments of the disclosure.

At least one aspect of the disclosure relates to a package for food products, the package having an internal volume delimited by:

-   -   a bottom wall;     -   a top wall;     -   a peripheral border connecting the bottom wall and the top wall,         and having an insertion edge allowing the introduction of food         products into the internal volume, the top wall having a pre-cut         intended to form a peripheral portion and a central portion         capable of being pivoted about a hinge relative to the         peripheral portion between:     -   a closed position in which the central portion and the         peripheral portion are coplanar, and     -   an open position in which the central portion is pivoted         relative to the peripheral portion,         in which the insertion edge incorporates a first flap and a         second flap extending respectively from the bottom wall and the         top wall, the first flap being intended to cooperate with the         second flap to close the insertion edge,         characterised in that the central portion is extended by a cap         intended to extend beyond the peripheral border in the closed         position of the central portion, and in that the first flap has:     -   a free edge forming a push-in stop into the internal volume of         the central portion in the closed position,     -   at least one notch opening onto the free edge and forming a         passage for a foolproof member during the insertion of the         package into a heating device in the open position of the         central portion.

Such package is safe and easy to use.

Indeed, the consumer who wishes to reheat the food products contained in the package only has to place the central portion of the top wall in its open position by handling the cap.

The passage(s) then allow foolproof devices not to block the package when it is inserted into the oven, which ensures that the package is properly inserted into the oven so that the food products it contains are properly heated.

Furthermore, the stop formed by the free edge of the first flap prevents the central portion of the top wall from being pushed into the internal volume.

This therefore allows maintaining the blocking passages, such that the insertion of the package into an oven is not made possible by pushing the central portion of the top wall into the internal volume.

In addition, there is no risk that the weight of several stacked packages causes the central portion of the lower package to be pushed to the detriment of the conservation of the food products and the risk of misuse of the package.

Indeed, a depression of the central portion of the upper wall could allow releasing the passages to enable the insertion of the package into an oven. The insertion of the central portion into the oven would then produce a burning of said central portion during the heating of the food products, because of the power of the heating elements of the oven.

According to an advantageous aspect, the second flap has at least one lumen located at the junction between the second flap and the top wall, the lumen being intended to face a notch of the first flap when the first flap cooperates with the second flap to close the insertion edge.

The presence of two flaps allows increasing the mechanical strength of the package.

Moreover, the presence of the lumen(s) allows keeping the passage free to allow the package to be inserted into an oven, this without the need to degrade said package.

According to another advantageous aspect, the first flap comprises two notches opening onto the free edge.

The two notches allow ensuring the safety of use of the package during heating.

Indeed, the presence of two notches requires that each of the notches is free of passage of a foolproof device, which avoids improper use of the package, for example a partial opening of the central portion, which could cause a degradation of the package, even its burning in the worst case.

According to another advantageous aspect, the second flap comprises two lumens each intended to face a notch of the first flap when the first flap cooperates with the second flap to close the insertion edge.

The presence of the two lumens cooperating with the two notches reinforces the safety of use of the package, in particular by making it more directed by the presence of a second flap of large dimensions, facilitating the transport of the package when the food products are reheated.

According to another advantageous aspect, the bottom wall has an opening intended to be sealed by a metal dish containing the food products.

This opening allows limit the risk of degradation to the package, in particular by burning, when the food products it contains are heated.

Indeed, when the package is made of cardboard, the risk of burning is significant when it is positioned facing heat sources.

Also, the presence of the opening allows limiting the amount of material of the package which can be degraded by heat.

Moreover, this opening allows limiting an effect of resistance to the reheating of the food products by the package.

Indeed, the metal dish can thus be directly affected by the heating radiation of the oven, the package, in particular when it is made of cardboard, does not then form an insulator which limits the heating of the food products.

An exemplary embodiment of the disclosure also relates to an oven for heating food products contained in a package as previously described , the oven having a heating volume delimited between a lower partition, an upper partition and a peripheral partition connecting the upper partition and the lower partition, the peripheral partition being provided with a slot for inserting packages into the heating volume, the oven also comprising a package support, located in the heating volume between the upper partition and the lower partition, characterised in that the oven comprises at least one foolproof device located in a central portion of the heating volume spaced from the insertion slot, the foolproof device extending from the upper partition towards the support.

Such an oven allows reheating food products contained in packages as previously described.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features and advantages will appear more clearly on reading the following description of exemplary embodiments of the disclosure, given by way of illustrative and non-limiting examples, and the appended drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a front perspective schematic representation of a package according to an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a front perspective schematic representation of the package according to an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure, in which a central portion of a top wall of the package is in an open position;

FIG. 3 is a rear perspective schematic representation according to an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure, in which a central portion of a top wall of the package is in an open position;

FIG. 4 is a top perspective schematic representation of the package according to an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure, in a configuration called “flat” configuration;

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional schematic representation of an oven for package according to an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 illustrates a package 1 for food products, according to an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure.

The package 1 is in particular made of cardboard and intended to contain frozen food products, such as pizzas, pies or quiches, which are reheated in package 1 for their consumption.

As illustrated in FIG. 2 , the package 1 has an internal volume 2 delimited by:

-   -   a bottom wall 3;     -   a top wall 4;     -   a peripheral border 5 connecting the bottom wall 3 and the top         wall 4.

With reference to FIG. 1 , the peripheral wall 5 has an insertion edge 6 allowing the introduction of food products into the internal volume 2 as described below.

The insertion edge incorporates a first flap 7 and a second flap 8 extending respectively from the bottom wall and the top wall, the first flap 7 being intended to cooperate with the second flap 8 to close the insertion edge 6.

The cooperation between the first flap 7 and the second flap 8, and more specifically the securing thereof, is in particular made by gluing. Alternatively, the cooperation between the first flap 7 and the second flap 8 could be made by inserting tabs into indentations, the tabs and indentations being able to be carried by one and/or the other of the first flap 7 and the second flap 8.

As illustrated in FIG. 1 , the top wall 4 has a pre-cut 9 intended to form a peripheral portion 10 and a central portion 11.

The central portion 11 can be pivoted about a hinge 12 relative to the peripheral portion 10 between:

-   -   a closed position in which the central portion 11 and the         peripheral portion 10 are coplanar (position illustrated in FIG.         1 ), and     -   an open position in which the central portion 11 is pivoted         relative to the peripheral portion 10 (position illustrated in         FIG. 2 ).

As will be subsequently explained, in order to reheat the food products contained in the package 1, a consumer places the central portion 11 of the top wall 4 in its open position.

By placing the central portion 11 in its open position, the consumer reveals at least one passage P made in the insertion edge 6.

In this case, as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3 , the package 1 is provided with two passages P. These passages P are intended to allow the insertion of the package 1 in an oven F.

Each passage P is obtained by a notch 13 formed in the first flap 7.

The notch 13 opens onto a free edge 14 of the first flap 7.

According to the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 2 to 4 , the second flap 8 extends over the entire width of the insertion edge 6.

The second flap then has, for each notch 13 of the first flap 7, a lumen 15. Each lumen 15 is located at the junction between the second flap 8 and the top wall 4.

Each lumen 15 is intended to be located facing a notch 13 of the first flap 7 when the first flap 7 cooperates with the second flap 8 to close the insertion edge 6.

According to a variant which is not illustrated, the second flap 8 is divided into two portions each located at one end of the top wall 4, the second flap 8 then being devoid of lumens 15.

More specifically, the two portions form folds allowing gluing the first flap 7 on the second flap 8 to close the insertion edge 6.

As illustrated in FIG. 1 , the central portion 11 is extended by a cap 16 intended to extend beyond the peripheral border 5 in the closed position of the central portion 11.

The free edge 14 of the first flap 7 then forms a push-in stop into the internal volume 2 of the central portion 11 in its closed position.

More specifically, the cap 16 abuts against the free edge 14 of the first flap 7 when the central portion 11 is in its closed position, which prevents the central portion from being pushed towards the bottom wall 3, that is to say in the internal volume 2.

Furthermore, with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4 , the bottom wall 3 has an opening 17 intended to be sealed by a metal dish containing the food products.

The opening 17 thus allows preventing the package from being degraded when reheating the food products as explained below.

The shaping of the package 1 is made from a cardboard sheet as illustrated in FIG. 4 .

Before its sheath shaping, the package 1 is flat, that is to say that the peripheral flange 5 is coplanar with the top wall 4 and the bottom wall 3.

The peripheral flange 5 is split into several elements carried by the top wall 4 and the bottom wall 3. These elements are intended to be folded perpendicular to the bottom wall 3 and to the top wall 4, then to be glued to each other to form the peripheral flange 5.

When the sheath is formed, only the first flap 7 and the second flap 8 remain coplanar with the bottom wall 3 and the top wall 4 respectively, to allow forming the insertion edge 6 used for inserting the food products into the package 1.

The insertion edge is then closed by cooperation, and more specifically by securing, of the first flap 7 and the second flap 8 when the food products are in the package 1.

As previously described, in order to allow reheating the food products contained in the package 1, a consumer handles the central portion 11 to place it in its open position, then introducing the package 1 into a dedicated oven F.

With reference to FIG. 5 , the dedicated oven F has a heating volume V which is delimited between:

-   -   a lower partition 18,     -   an upper partition 19, and     -   a peripheral partition 20 connecting the upper partition 19 and         the lower partition 18.

The peripheral partition 20 is provided with a slot 21 for inserting packages 1 into the heating volume V.

The oven F also comprises a support 22 for packages 1, located in the heating volume V between the upper partition 19 and the lower partition 18.

Heating element(s) 23 are located in the heating volume V to allow reheating the food products contained in a package 1 which is inserted into the oven F.

In order to avoid a misuse, the dedicated oven F comprises at least one foolproof device 24 located in a central portion 25 of the heating volume V.

More particularly, the oven F comprises at most, as many foolproof devices 24 as the package 1 has notches 13. A foolproof device is a protrusion inside the oven dedicated to prevent insertion of the package 1 if the passage (formed by the cooperation of the notch and the lumen) is not facing the protrusion.

According to the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 4 , the package 1 has two notches 13. The oven F comprises, in this case, two foolproof devices 24.

The central portion 25 therefore extends in an intermediate region between the slot and a rear portion of the peripheral wall (opposite to the slot), and is consequently spaced from the insertion slot 21.

The foolproof device 24 extends from the upper partition 19 in the direction of the support 22.

More specifically, the heating element(s) 23 are interposed between the foolproof device 24 and the upper partition 19.

In a variant which is not illustrated in the figures, the foolproof device 24 can extend directly from the upper wall 19 while being surrounded by the heating means 23.

Although the present disclosure has been described with reference to one or more examples, workers skilled in the art will recognize that changes may be made in form and detail without departing from the scope of the disclosure and/or the appended claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A package for a food product, the package comprising: an internal volume delimited by: a bottom wall; a top wall; and a peripheral border connecting the bottom wall and the top wall, and having an insertion edge allowing introduction of a food product into the internal volume, wherein the top wall has a pre-cut to form a peripheral portion and a central portion pivotable about a hinge relative to the peripheral portion between: a closed position in which the central portion and the peripheral portion are coplanar, and an open position in which the central portion is pivoted relative to the peripheral portion, wherein the insertion edge incorporates a first flap and a second flap extending respectively from the bottom wall and the top wall, the first flap being cooperable with the second flap to close the insertion edge, wherein the central portion is extended by a cap which extends beyond the peripheral border in the closed position of the central portion, and wherein the first flap has: a free edge forming a push-in stop into the internal volume of the central portion in the closed position, and at least one notch opening onto the free edge and forming a passage for a fool-proof member during insertion of the package into a heating device in the open position of the central portion.
 2. The package according to claim 1, wherein the second flap has at least one lumen located at a junction between the second flap and the top wall, the at least one lumen facing the at least one notch of the first flap when the first flap cooperates with the second flap to close the insertion edge.
 3. The package according to claim 1, wherein the at least one notch of the first flap comprises two notches opening onto the free edge.
 4. The package according to claim 2, wherein the at least one lumen of the second flap comprises two lumens each of the two lumens facing a respective a notch of the at least one notch of the first flap when the first flap cooperates with the second flap to close the insertion edge.
 5. The package according to claim 1, wherein the bottom wall has an opening to be sealed by a metal dish containing a food product.
 6. An apparatus comprising: a package for containing a food product, the package comprising: an internal volume delimited by: a bottom wall; a top wall; and a peripheral border connecting the bottom wall and the top wall, and having an insertion edge allowing introduction of a food product into the internal volume, wherein the top wall has a pre-cut to form a peripheral portion and a central portion pivotable about a hinge relative to the peripheral portion between: a closed position in which the central portion and the peripheral portion are coplanar, and an open position in which the central portion is pivoted relative to the peripheral portion, wherein the insertion edge incorporates a first flap and a second flap extending respectively from the bottom wall and the top wall, the first flap being cooperable with the second flap to close the insertion edge, wherein the central portion is extended by a cap which extends beyond the peripheral border in the closed position of the central portion, and wherein the first flap has: a free edge forming a push-in stop into the internal volume of the central portion in the closed position, and at least one notch opening onto the free edge and forming a passage for a fool-proof member during insertion of the package into an oven in the open position of the central portion; and the oven for heating a food product contained in the package, the oven comprising: a heating volume delimited between a lower partition, an upper partition and a peripheral partition connecting the upper partition and the lower partition, the peripheral partition being provided with a slot for inserting the package into the heating volume; a support to support the package, located in the heating volume between the upper partition and the lower partition; and at least one fool-proof device located in a central portion of the heating volume spaced from the insertion slot, the fool-proof device extending from the upper partition towards the support. 